Tuesday, March 9, 2010

For my benefit and yours

After watchng Food Inc, and reading most of Michael Pollan's books, I decided that we should have a vegetable garden at our house. Mom has a meticulous flower garden that I have never had any interest in, but I'm excited to be growing stuff to eat!

I am attempting:
Tomatoes (Break of Day, Stupice, Henderson Pink Ponderosa, Roma Rio Grande)
Peppers: Sweet Pepper Gourmet Rainbow Mix (bell), Red Cheese Peppers, Hot Pepper Mix, Delicias Hot Peppers (a type of Jalepeno), Chinese Five Color
Picnic Watermelon
Contender Bush Beans
Herbs: Genovese Basil, Lime Basil, Sweet Italian Basil, Bee Balm, Dill, Rosemary, Common Thyme
Carrots: Cosmic Purple, Sweetness III Hybrid
Onions: Candy Hybrid, Red Burgermeister Hybrid
Tyee Spinach
Prisma Shallots
Brocolli (Green Goliath)
Sweet slice hybrid cucumber

Everything is being done from seed. I've been starting them in my basement using Burpees Eco-friendly seed starting kit and a grow light. (My grow light is a 4 ft long shop light fitted with 2 types of flourescent bulbs.) I have started all of my onions, shallots, brocolli, lime basil, tomatoes and peppers. The pellets have been great, despite the fact that I read not to start my hot peppers in them. The only think that has not germinated is my Chinese Five Color, but all the peppers have had a slow start so I'm giving them another week or so.